Five Man Delta
by Rith The Dragon Knight
Summary: After the sinking of Jacinto, C.O.G is on the move. After taking up in a small town in the mountains, Delta is told that they are receiving a new member. Rated M for language, gore, and adult themes.
1. One More Makes Five

Sergeant Marcus Fenix looked out over the empty, vast horizon he could see from the lookout tower. What little that remained of the Gears and Stranded of Jacinto had moved to small towns in the nearby mountain ranges. Marcus could still see what had passed as a normal life for the last 15 years in that city in his mind's eye. But now Jacinto was just a ghost town in a sink hole. It made him hate the Locusts even more if that was possible.

Delta Squad was at the tail-end of their lookout shift. Cole and Baird had finally become permanent members of Delta, and Dom was still the positive voice of the group, although the death of Maria had hit him really hard. Marcus knew his old friend enough that Dom was holding himself together just so he could kill more of the Locust bastards that had killed most of the planet.

As a small speck appeared along the horizon, a slight static filled Marcus's earpiece. The voice he heard through it made him involuntarily snarl.

"Delta, this is Hoffman. Raven coming in with your new teammate. Gamma Squad is releaving you early. Meet at the city square."

"Wilco. Delta out." Was all Marcus could say as he heard footsteps come up from behind him.

The third Carmine brother, Chris, was more seasoned than either Anthony or Benjamin. Marcus couldn't help but feel grateful that he wasn't in charge of another one of the brothers. Delta seemed to be a death sentence for them.

Chris's red hair gleamed in the setting sunlight. Unlike his brothers, he hated the issued helmet, complaining it hindered his field of vision. This finally gave a face to the Carmine brothers; they apparently looked all the same with their dimples.

Chris stood at attention. "Corporal Christopher Carmine of Gamma Squad, sir. I'm here to relief you." _They even have the same innocence in their voices_, Marcus thought wearily. He nodded at his replacement and started down the stairs.

The rest of Delta was already in the square when Marcus jogged into it. Each one of the members held their usual auras: Cole seemed as giddy as a child on his first day of summer camp, Baird looked as if he was being punished for something, and Dominic seemed to be trying to hold a smile. Trying was the key word.

Colonel Victor Hoffman stood at attention in front of the squad. He glared at the leader of Delta Squad, who returned it with equal venom. They may respect one another for keeping humanity alive, but they'll never be anything more than begrudging allies with a lot of bad blood between the two of them. "The name of your new teammate is Corporal Blacktalon."

"Does the corporal have a first name, sir?" Marcus asked with his usual grit in his voice.

"No, Sergeant. Even Blacktalon was just a name she made for C.O.G."

Baird was the first one to open his mouth. "Wait, _she_?" Hoffman gave Baird a hard glare, although he didn't seem to notice. "She is adept at all weapons, including hand-to-hand and bladed weapons. We have written reports of her taking on Locusts since roughly the age of 14. She has turned down being stationed in Sigma Squad so she can join Delta." Sigma was probably the best team beyond Delta in all of C.O.G., specializing in commando and covert missions. Most Gears killed just to get on the recommendation roster.

Marcus barely reacted. "I thought women weren't allowed to be Gears since E-Day." This was true. Although many women were in the ranks in the Pendelum Wars, the necessity to protect humanity by producing more children had caused almost all women to be pulled. The women still in the military were usually just put in Control. Hoffman for some reason smirked.

"Anyone who has learned to predict E-holes and knows their battle tactics is needed on the front line."

Someone able to know where emergence holes popped up? Where the fuck do you learn that?

Before any more questions could be asked, a Raven gunship whirled into position in the square and landed. A Gear in full armor jumped onto the gravel pathways before it completely landed. The armor had been augmented to hold 18-inch blades on each thigh plate. A Lancer, as clean as it had been when it came off the assembly line, hung on its sling as two bags, two standard-issue duffel bags nearly bursting with gear, hung from each hand. The new member wore a do-rag over the ponytail that kept her shoulder-length black hair in order. Although her young age of probably 20 showed on her face, her three large scars there also showed as a badge of duty. Her blue eyes were almost as icy as Marcus's, but she bore an almost innocent smile. She stepped out of the whirlwind created by the helicopter blades, shifted her gear to one hand and saluted to Hoffman. "Corporal Blacktalon reporting for duty, sir." Hoffman sharply saluted back. "Welcome aboard, Corporal."

He motioned toward Marcus. "Sergeant Marcus Fenix of Delta Squad." Blacktalon walked toward Marcus and saluted again, although her body language showed she was more excited this time. "Corporal Blacktalon, sir. Everyone calls me Talon." She said with a small smirk.

Marcus looked at her starkly, but then let a small smile slide. "Welcome to Delta."

--- --- --- ---

"This is Delta's block."

Dom had agreed to show Talon around as Marcus got a debrief from Hoffman. Talon looked around the floor she was now presented with. Delta had been given half a floor of a small apartment complex. The other side was occupied by weapon caches. Talon looked down the hall. Four doors were shut, and only the last one was open. "I guess I get the last one?"

Dom chuckled softly. "Yeah. You gotta deal with Marcus as your neighbor." He whispered to her as the walked down the hall. "I'm on the other side of him, followed by Cole, then Baird."

"Baird seems like such a fucking brat." Talon scowled before she realized what she had said. "Oh...sorry. Didn't mean that." Dom just laughed. She hadn't even talked to him yet and she already had an opinion. "No, you're right. He is a bastard, but he knows more about machines and Locusts than anyone that I've ever known. Oh, up til you, of course." Talon giggled slightly. _Shit, this girl seems so innocent._ Dom thought. _How the hell is she what Hoffman says she is?_

They got to the final apartment and Talon quietly glided through the door, although its small birth hindered Dom a little. It was simple, cozy probably the best word. The windows weren't blown out, and it even had a small couch in the living room. The bedroom was small, but adaquate. But the most loved feature by everyone in the building was clear running water throughout. Hygiene was something sorely missed by everyone. Talon sat her gear in the closet and looked at Dom. "Real squishy realty, here." She sighed in joy at she fell onto the bed. It cried out in protest from the weight. Dom stood in the entryway of the room. "We were lucky. People had cleared out of this town years ago, but nothing had really fallen into disrepair. There wan't even Kryll shit up here." Talon sat up and pulled a small ration from a pouch on her belt. She offered some to Dom, who declined, and preceded to eat what looked like a solid cube of beef broth.

"Are you really as good as Hoffman says you are?" Dom said finally, his curiosity finally getting to him. Talon looked at him out of the corner of her eye, her demeanor almost instantaneously looking like a female Marcus. "Probably not, but I'm still good." She said with a smile. She sighed heavily as she pulled a piece of armor off her arm. There was no underarmor, only her bare skin, which was covered with tattooes of nothing but cogs. She smiled weakly. "Every Gear I have been stationed with is now KIA. I've managed to survive at least three dozen ambushes with no scars from active duty. I'm either really good...or really lucky." She sighed heavily as she replaced the bracer, then she stood up and walked toward Dom. "Gears are the only thing I got that resembles family. Maybe if I find one that won't die on me, I may just be human at the end of this." She softly walked by Dom and out the front door. Dom sighed heavily and followed, closing the door behind him.

--- --- --- ---

Marcus was not liking this. Hoffman had just read the rap sheet on the newest member of Delta. Blacktalon was notorious for her temper. She fucking jumped a Boomer once. The scariest thing, though, was that she killed the thing on her own with a damn commando knife. She was use to being deployed with teams that ended up being barely recognizable as human remains. She had become bad luck to have on your team. She probably didn't have many more chances before they forced her into a desk job.

Marcus looked down at her paperwork. Sigma Squad had wrote about her six years ago in their report. She had helped them with three E-holes on their patrol of Stranded territory. To purposely recommend a Stranded into C.O.G. by them is a very rare compliment, let alone when they are two years below the minimum age of acceptance.

He looked out the window into the apartment courtyard. He could see Dom and Cole standing around in a circle of Gears that looked like was surrounding a fight. He looked closer at the combatants. "Ah, shit!" he yelled as he ran down the steps two at a time to the courtyard.

--- --- --- ---

The crowd of Gears roared as they circled Talon and Baird. Baird never knew went to keep his mouth shut and had made some wonderful remarks about how he detested Stranded. The consequential coldcock by Talon is what had landed them in this mess.

Baird was the first to attack, lunging at Talon's midsection in an attempt to tackle. She easily dodged and landed Baird in a chokehold. He clawed at her, but she just closed her eyes and held on. She had nearly gotten him to go limp when she was punched with so much force it sent both combatants to the ground.

Marcus stood over the two of them, his face blood red from both anger and running down five flights of stairs. The Gears were quickly dispersing. Dom stepped foward. "Marcus. It was Baird that started it. He wouldn't shut his mouth."

"Yeah. It was nice to see someone shut his ass up." Cole injected. Marcus was still fuming at Talon. "I don't give a fuck! You don't start fights! PERIOD!"

He looked solidly at Talon. He noticed the venom in her now almost dead eyes. It rattled him slightly that this young girl had as much venom in her as he had in him. But he wouldn't back down.

Baird's annoying voice broke the silence. "Gee, guys. Thanks for helping me out there." He was swiftly kicked by the still prone Talon, knocking him back onto the floor. Marcus closed the distance between them and pulled Talon to her feet with a rough jerk so she would look him in the eyes. He spoke very low, almost a gutteral whisper. "Don't _ever_ start fights. We don't need people in the Med Sector because of your temper." This curiously provoked a smile. "Sir," she started, "if I had lost my temper, he would have been dead before you got here." Marcus let go of her chestpiece, allowing her to squarely stand on her feet. A slight glint in his eye showed his stifled smile. "I don't doubt that. But you won't win many friends pulling that shit."

"It won't happen again, sir." She saluted smartly as she turned and extended her hand to the still prone Baird. "If he does it again, I'll just cut his tongue out when he sleeps." Her smile made Baird feel uneasy.

"You're one crazy bitch, you know that?" he said as he got to his feet. Talon just laughed. "Then I joined the right team. You're all crazy bastards."

Cole and Dom couldn't help but laugh. It was true. Ever other Gear respected Delta, but they all thought they were crazier than shit. Even Marcus cracked a smile. Dom took notice. "Talon," he motioned to Marcus, "you have managed to get Marcus to hit you and smile at you on the same day." He clasped his hand on her shoulder with a smirk. "I thought I was the only one he did that to."

"Come on, guys." Cole yelled over the other four. "Mess starts in ten." The team started to jog to the old school that was now their Mess Hall. "Yeah, maybe our rations will be in date this time." Baird grimaced.

"What's wrong, Baird? Stomach doesn't like rations no more?" Talon said, oozing with sarcasm. "Try barbacued Kryll sometime." Dom looked at Talon in disbelief. "You _ate_ that?"

Talon smiled. "Stranded will try anything once. If we survive it, it may be eaten again." She let out a laugh. "I have yet to meet someone eat Kryll more than once, though."

"I suddenly want to chew on those outdated rations." Baird sulked at they all entered the Mess Hall. It seemed their new member may just fit in after all.


	2. Off Duty Chatter

After Mess, Delta made their way back to their barracks. They agreed to meet in Marcus's room after getting out of gear and cleaning up a little. Dom was the first to enter Marcus's living room. The kitchen bar had his Longshot dismantled on it while he cleaned the auxilirary chain for his Lancer. Dom sat in the worn out lounge chair near the window.

Even without their armor, Gears were huge men. Marcus showed this in the natural flexing of his muscles from under his black tank and issued fatigues. Dom was not as ripped, but was equal to Marcus's over six-foot-tall height.

Cole came next in, his voice entering before he was even seen. "Sup, guys." he waved at Dom and Marcus, who nodded in acknowledgement. Cole always wore a old jersey from his thrashball days while off-duty. The muscles that had grown bigger since then, and had filled in where the jersey would have usually housed light protective gear.

Baird came in wearing a tech jumpsuit, its upper portion tied like a belt along his waist, revealing a very rare white tank. Baird always wore white for some reason; all it did was show blood more.

They all greeted with one another and started to talk as Marcus finished putting together his weapons. He always took longer because he would clean weapons even if they were not used that day. This became tedious when he also started cleaning the spare parts. As he started putting together his rifle, the final member of Delta made the others stop in their tracks and take notice.

Talon wasn't wearing anything unusual. In fact, she wore the same standard-issue black tank and fatigues that Marcus wore. But the differences in anatomy between a man and woman became obvious in such articles. She had the perfect hourglass shape, her battle-hardened muscles showing through the tank. The fatigues had managed to accentuate her tight rear end as much as her tank did for her large chest. She barely had a scar on her body, except for the three large ones on her face, which seemed to hide under her now loose black hair. Dom noticed that her COG tattooes covered her entire left arm from her shoulder down.

Talon eyed everyone else as much as they were eyeing her. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you all are _very_ hot guys." She said with a smile.

Cole responded. "And if we didn't know any better, we'd say you were one fine-ass lady." Talon chuckled as she sat down on the floor where a television would normally have been stationed. "They all say that until I put them in a chokehold." This caused everyone minus Marcus to chuckle. "You wanna test it?" Baird said. He seemed to have short-term memory about nearly being killed by her chokehold, but his ego was quickly shot down.

"You have a tendency to lunge if you don't have a gun, which you obviously prefer. Anyone half descent at grappling can pin you."

Baird puffed at Talon's remark. "How the fuck you know that?"

Talon stared at him. "You reek of gunpowder residue, but not blood. This says you rarely get sprayed by blood, and not much even then. Your musculature shows strength, but it lies in places that don't help in hand-to-hand. You're probably good at..." She studied his body hard, which made Baird blush slightly. "Running." She said with a suggestive smirk. "You have _great _stamina."

Dom and Cole laughed as Baird turned bright red. Cole shoved Talon softly. "Do that shit to me, next."

"Alright." Talon looked up and down Cole, who was beaming. "Well, everyone knows you play thrashball. Defensive line."

"Number 83, baby." Cole said proudly.

Talon looked carefully over his muscles. "Hmm. A lot of the muscles for thrashball are still there. Your shoulders show you probably still hit things that don't particularly want to move. Old scar tissue seems to occasionally still bother your knee, but you probably still outrun most people. Probably prefer rushing an enemy with...Lancer? No. Wait. You like grenades, too. Calluses on the hands show close range shrapnel damage." Cole stared as if he had just seen a magic trick. "Stick 'em with a grenade and get the hell out of Dodge."

Talon's face shone from the new knowledge. "Ahh. That would definitely explain the shrapnel."

Dom was next. "What am I good at?" he said with a smile.

Talon looked at him softly. "Muscles show you probably were a Gear as soon as you could be, and even before then you were really active. You have great control over your strength, able to do things really gentle. I'll assume...kids. Probably two?"

Dom's face drained of life slightly. His kids. That was something rarely spoken of. The grim expression made Talon downcast her eyes. "Shit. I hit a nerve." Dom merely waved his hand. "It's alright. I...did have two kids. They died on E-day." A frail smile appeared on his face. "Please finish."

Talon swallowed deeply as she continued to study him. "You tossed them a lot. Almost the same muscles as a bench press, but you need way more control over it. Your muscles are riddled with knots. Lots of stress. More than anyone else. Could tell that even with your armor on. But being around the squad calms you. You probably couldn't work as well if you weren't with these guys." Dom nodded. He knew this, but didn't realize it was so readible.

"Read Marcus now!" Cole exclaimed as Fenix finished putting the last piece together on the Longshot at the bar. He had been listening to everything, but had made it a point to finish this first. He looked at Talon, a mix of interest and authority it his eyes.

Talon squinted at Marcus, closing one eye in an attempt to focus. "Um..." she started. "The muscles from your young age show you probably were made to stay indoors a lot. Teenage years you got really active. Joined C.O.G. at a young age, like Dom. Been in a lot of different terrain. Probably spent a lot of time in cold weather. You like running where you need to go, regardless of how far. You feel really protective of your team. Consider them family. I saw your jaw clench when Dom reacted." Marcus eyed her, which caused Dom to look at her as well. Marcus would have barely been in her field of vision when she was studying Dom and she had managed to see such slight movement. She continued. "You don't like people poking too far into your affairs, but you respect protocol. That's probably why Hoffman doesn't have a black eye already."

Marcus scoffed. "Anyone can see the Colonel and me don't see eye-to-eye."

Talon smiled. "Ah, but do many people see that the scar on your face is from anti-tank shrapnel. I bet...C.O.G issued. The slight burn damage tells me that. Stitched up probably by you without a mirror...or someone that's blind. I'd say it happened about a three years before E-day. Probably in a wetlands somewhere from the scars from infection."

Marcus quirked an eyebrow. "Extraction of personnel from Aspho Fields. Friendly fire. Got infected two days later."

Talon nodded, a broad smile on her face. She loved it when she was right.

The rest of Delta wore expressions of shock. "Where'd you learn this shit?" Cole asked.

Talon's smile seemed to dim a little. "You learn to read everything when you're a Stranded, especially a lone Stranded. I could tell who had a gun even if I couldn't see it. Saved my ass too many times to remember."

"Is that why you can predict E-holes?" Marcus asked dryly. Talon merely sighed. "A more complicated method, but the same pattern. Gravel starts to shift when they are about 100 meters from the surface. Gives you about 15 seconds to play with. You can feel them travelling up to a mile down if there are enough of them on the move. Even when they break the surface, I can tell each of their rank just by their demeanor to one another." She smiled weakly. "Another thing I learned from being alone."

"When did your parents die?" Dom asked. Talon smiled, her eyes focused on nothing in particular. "On E-Day. I was five. Got taken up by some Stranded afterwards. They died when I was seven. Been on my own ever since."

"Shit. On your own since seven?" Cole said surprised. Talon nodded. "Yeah." She motioned to her face. "The scar on my eye I got when I was ten. The other two when I was fourteen. I'm sure you read about that, Sergeant."

"The Sigma Incident." Marcus acknoledged. "You were asked to join them then even though you were underage."

Talon nodded. "The Lancer I got from them. I told them I didn't want to join, though."

"Sigma squad wanted you at fourteen?" Baird said. "Most Gears spend their entire careers hoping they're just in the _running _to be wanted."

"Why didn't you join?" Marcus injected. He was trying to hide his curiosity behind grit. Talon smiled. It wasn't working on her. "I was use to running on my own terms. Sigma's one of the most by-the-book squads. Not that great for someone that shits on the book." Her chuckle was strained, not sure if anyone would take offense. They all glazed over it. She continued. "Joined at sixteen. Been on....twenty-three different squads since then. All their rosters wiped while I was on them."

"That's what the tattooes are." Dom added. Talon smile and nodded. "Even got stationed on Omega Squad twice, both full KIA. Second one was my last squad." She sighed heavily. "Right now the only squads that'll still take me is Sigma and Delta. So here I am."

"What? Don't want Sigma to die?" Baird said without thinking. Talon took no offense though. "Nah. Just figured the team that's gone into the Locust stronghold twice is less likely to die. I doubt my shitty luck will effect you guys's godly luck."

"Amen to that." Cole said gladly. He stood up and headed to the kitchen. "Who wants a beer?"

They all raised their hands. "Stupid question, Cole." Baird said with a small grin. Talon stood up. "I'll help ya." She said as she grabbed three bottles. Cole nodded in gratitude and grabbed two for him and Baird. Talon handed one beer to Marcus, then Dom. She seemed to not notice everyone trying to stare at her ass as she sat back down. She popped the cap and chugged half the bottle in one hit. She licked her lips and smiled. "Been a while since I've even _seen _a beer bottle."

"There was a brewery about a klik down the mountain." Dom exclaimed. "It still had power when we got here. Five years worth of beer sitting in fridges for fifteen. Miracle something wasn't growing in there." The team laughed slightly. They each nursed their bottles, knowing they could only do this because tomorrow was their day off. Regardless, they learned not to get shit-faced ever.

--- --- --- ---

After about an hour of standard bullshit, Talon stiffled a yawn. "Alright, guys. Gotta head off." She looked down at an antique watch on her tattooed arm. "Standard lights-out time, right?" Dom nodded in reply. She smiled. "Then you guys have a few minutes to probably talk about getting action with me."

She stood up and threw out the bottle, everyone remaining shocked silent from her remark. Baird actually was forming a blush again. She waved her goodbye, and no sooner was she out the door did Cole lean foward to talk to Baird and Dom. "Shit. She's creepy at knowing what we're gonna do."

"She knows we probably haven't seen pussy in the last fifteen years." Marcus sighed as he sat on corner of his couch.

Baird was still blushing. "I swear, she does shit to get rises out of people." Cole shoved Baird playfully. "What's the matter, Baird? Embarrassed?" Dom and Cole quickly jumped on Baird's obvious uneasiness like one would to a kid brother, but Marcus merely stared off. She took pride in reading the unreadable. He could see it plastered all over her face. His jaw twitched. _Great,_ he thought,_ now I got a chick that can get a rise out of anyone and then expose it for all it's worth._

Marcus was deep within his thoughts when Cole's booming whisper shook him back to reality. "So you think any of us got a chance?"

Marcus quirked an eyebrow. "Doubt it."

Baird waved his hand, trying to puff back out his ego. "She's a natural-born cocktease. She'll just give us all blue balls and delight in the fact we'll be masturbating all night."

"Maybe you," said Cole. "But I'll be getting some action."

"Yeah, from Manuela." Dom said as he mimicked jerking off with a clenched fist. The three laughed at their jokes, and even Marcus couldn't help but smile. The laughs turned awkward though when Talon appeared in the doorway. Instead of wearing fatigues, she now wore small, skintight bike shorts. Even Marcus gawked briefly before catching himself. "What time you want me up tomorrow, Sergeant?" Talon asked, acting as if her state of dress was nothing out of the ordinary. Marcus swallowed hard. "0800. We'll figure out things from there."

"Cool." She said with a calm smile. "Bye." She waved as she left the doorway once again. Marcus closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead from a forming headache. "I'll safely assume that everyone's leaving now."

Everyone nodded, still staring at the empty doorway.

After waiting a few moments, Marcus stood up. "Alright, guys. She's not in the doorway anymore. Stop gawking and go to bed." Everyone blinked away the image and quickly scurried to their apartments. Marcus could hear each door lock as soon as the door shut. He got up and slowly closed the door and locked it. He quickly rubbed his head to get the image of his new teammate in as little clothing as she could wear without being indecent from his mind. It didn't work.

He flopped onto his bed with a sigh. Just when he thought he would just fall asleep, he heard a gentle rapping on the other side of the wall.

A whisper of "Good night, Sergeant" from his neighbor was all it took for him to be going to sleep very, _very_ frustrated.


	3. Snipers My Ass

Talon was the first to knock on Marcus's door. She couldn't help but smirk when he finally opened the door. Soap was still bubbling in his hair and had already ran into one of his eyes, causing him to close it, and he was only wrapped in a large grey towel. Marcus scowled at the unprepared-for guest. He looked at his clock then back at her.

"You're a half hour early." He grumbled.

Talon merely shrugged. "Figured I'd ask you ahead of time what we're doing so in case I need to go back to my room to get stuff." She looked at Marcus with a slightly confused look. His body was blocking entrance to his room. "If you want me to wait, I'll go back to my room."

Marcus grumbled. "No. You might as well wait." He shuffled to one side of the doorway to let her pass. Talon nodded and stepped in quickly, allowing Marcus to close back his door. Talon sat down in the same spot on the floor as the previous night and Marcus eyed her. "You know, there are seats for a reason."

"This is my spot, though." Talon said with innocence and sarcasm in her voice. Marcus just rolled his eyes and walked back toward the bathroom. "Fine. Give me a sec so I can get this shit out."

Talon nodded enthusiastically, and Marcus grumbled as he disappeared into his room.

After about fifteen minutes, he returned, wearing his fatigues and pulling on his tank. He stopped and stared at Talon. She had a small notebook and was...drawing?

"What are you doing?" He said, which caused Talon to started slightly. Marcus quirked an eyebrow. "_That_ startled you?"

Talon grumbled. "When I draw, I focus on just that. You could have probably shot me and I wouldn't had noticed it."

"I won't test that." Marcus smirked as he sat in his spot on the couch. He extended his hand. "May I see?"

Talon eyed his hand, but then handed the notebook over. "Only since you asked nicely."

Marcus started at the front of the book. The first page was just a list of names and ranks. A written KIA list. He flicked the page. The face of a young Islander smiled at him, under it was written VIPER, LEO SQUAD.

He flicked the page again. Viper and another fully armored Gear stood taking cover against a wall, apparently taking on heavy gunfire. Under it was VIPER AND HAWK.

Ever page he flicked past showed more Gears, teammates long since dead. About half way through the book, he came across a series of quotes, along with STATIONED IN DELTA written boldly in the center of the page. The one quote that seemed to stand out was _'Love is for the mind. Lust is for the body. Anger is the denial of them both.'_ It had even been written on over and over again in red ink to make it stand out.

The next page, he was greeted by a obviously blushing Baird, his face in a freeze frame of him about to make some smartass remark. Next was Cole, with his warmhearted, teeth-bearing smile. Dom seemed to have a small smile and an almost tired expression on his face. He then saw the picture she was last working on, and his eye twitched involuntarily.

There he stood, suds in his eye and seemingly about to punch the viewer in his worn out towel. He looked at Talon. "Shit. I didn't realize I looked so pissed."

Talon smirked as she shrugged her shoulders. "I don't think anyone's happy with soap in their eye."

Marcus shrugged and handed back the book. She placed it neatly in the large pocket on the side of her fatigues, then slid the pencil into a small sleeve on the outside of it. She looked back at him, her face already looking more serious. "So what are we doing today, Sergeant?"

Marcus stretched, a spot in his spine audibly popping. "Well...I was hoping you would show up some of the basics of tracking." Talon's eyebrow twitched. "You want me to...teach?" Marcus nodded.

"You have a problem with that, Corporal?"

Talon sighed and scratched her head. "No. It's just..."

"Just what?" said a new voice as Dom entered the room. Talon looked up at him and smiled softly. "Nothing." She turned back to Marcus. "I'll do it. Just give me a second to get some shit from my room." She stood up and headed to the door. Before she rounded the corner, she stopped suddenly and turned to Dom. "Go get your Longshot."

Dom looked confused. "Huh? Why?"

Marcus stood up and smirked at his old friend. "Because we are going on a little trip."

--- --- --- ---

Talon crouched silently behind a small pile of debris. The rest of Delta took up flanking positions. Talon spoke into her earpiece. "Okay. Longshots out. Aim at the pillar half a klik east."

"Where the hell is that?" Cole said through the mic. Talon rolled her eyes. "It's a fucking 50 foot tall slab of onyx. Don't tell me you can't find it. I can see it _without_ the Longshot."

She could hear Baird grumble in response.

"I see it!" Cole said finally.

"Same here." spoke Marcus, followed by Dom, then Baird.

"Okay. I want you to focus on that pillar while I get into position." Talon said as she quickly jumped the debris and headed down the mountain they were on. So far, after seven hours of practice, the only one that could follow her movements consistently was Marcus, and even he couldn't get clear shots on a regular basis. _How the hell are they going to see me without the rilfes if they can't even find me _with_ them. _She thought silently to herself as she edged the clearing.

It looked like a small version of the House of Sovereigns, but its ruins of onyx and black marble littered the floor. _Good cover_. Talon thought as clicked the earpiece. "Alright. I am about to enter the clearing. See if you can spot me."

She dashed quickly into the clearing and slid into the first downed pillar, kicking up a small cloud of dust. Surely they saw that. She waited a minute and groaned. She stood up and yelled into the mic. "Are you fuckers even _looking_ this way!?"

Cole spoke first. "We are. But, shit, Talon. We aren't snipers."

Talon snapped. "I'M NOT ASKING YOU TO BE FUCKING SNIPERS!!!!!" She breathed in heavily when she heard her voice crack the mic with feedback.

"I'm not asking you to be snipers. I'm asking you to fucking track. Once you're able to track me." She waved her arms toward the ridge the were on to make her point. "A fucking fully armed Gear, then we'll start on hunting wildlife. Once you got that, you'll learn to look for environmental changes. Only after mastering all three will you even have an attempt in guessing an E-hole. Do you guys even give a shit?"

Baird stood up along his ridge. "This is bullshit."

Talon pulled out her pistol and shot one round. It lodged itself in the tree next to Baird's face, who was a mile up the mountain. "Sit down, Baird."

She saw his shadow slowly sink back into the foliage. She reholstered her gun and scratched her head. "Sergeant." She spoke toward her right, where Marcus had moved to try and hide his position. He sighed and clicked on. "Yeah?"

"Can we stop? This is becoming stupid."

"You think this is stupid, Talon?" he asked with his usual grit. He could see Talon shake her head in his scope. "No. But when after seven hours the only person that _may_ have a chance to hit me still only has a 10 percent chance of killing me with that shot, I think it's time to retire. Besides, I'm hungry and am not in a particular mood to hunt shit."

Marcus sighed. "Fine." He slung his rifle onto his back. "Delta. Make back to Base. How long should it take you, Talon?"

"To travel three miles in mountain terrain? Twenty mintues."

"Then we got twenty minutes. Talon, you're the rabbit."

"Alright. Happy hunting, then. Talon out." Talon said as she clicked off her mic and went radio silent. Marcus started to run. "We don't make it there to catch her, we don't eat."

You could hear Cole ripping through the ground cover as he tried to run. "Shit, I'm hungry, too."

Delta ran as fast as they could, given they were in nearly fifty pounds of gear and a heavily forested mountainside. They quickly made it to a game trail, making the run much faster.

Marcus could see Talon off to his right, in the same gear but ahead of them and gaining distance. _This was probably not a good idea._ Marcus thought as he tried to make pace with her. _Yeah, this was a shit idea._

--- --- --- ---

Talon stood at the gate of the town that made up HQ, arms crossed and smile broadly shining on her face. After standing there for ten minutes, the rest of Delta made it there.

Well, 'made it' is probably not the best description. Cole and Baird were holding each other up. Dom's face was flushed red and glistening with sweat. Even Marcus doubled over in an attempt to get more air. Talon walked up to them. "Guess Squad's not eating." She motioned them to follow. "Come on. I got some rations in my room." Marcus nodded and tried to stand up as straight as possible to follow Talon. The other three, however, didn't try to hide their exhaustion. They just wished that their legs wouldn't fall off.

--- --- --- ---

"Are you tired at fucking all?" Baird asked as he saw Talon walk into Marcus's living room. Talon merely shrugged. "I can cover 10 miles in the time you guys took to cover three." She smirked at Baird. "Don't tell me you guys are getting too old for this shit?"

"We ain't that old!" Cole objected. Talon smirked. "Don't worry. I'll try to pace myself with you guys next time."

Marcus walked back out of his bathroom. He had soaked through both his underarmor and off-duty gear with sweat, which now lay drying in the window. He sat down, utterly drained, in his only clean pair of black boxers. Everyone else had already stripped into a similar situation, except Talon, who was wearing fatigues and a tee shirt.

"Well, we know who's going to be recon." Dom smiled. Talon returned the grin. "What I'm good at."

As they tried to get their breathing in order, a short, solid rap came at the door. "Come in." Marcus yelled.

Colonel Hoffman briskly walked into the room, all eyes on him. "Good afternoon, Delta."

A mutter of "good afternoon"s and nods came from everyone in the group.

"You are being assigned to Recon for tomorrow's shift." Hoffman said curtly. He looked at Marcus. "You think your men can handle it?"

"Yes, sir." Marcus answered with the same curtness with a hint of sandpaper softness.

Hoffman smirked. "Good. Enjoy the rest of the day, men."

"Yes, sir." Talon said with a smile. Hoffman softened his face as he looked at her, then walked out of the room and closed the door.

Baird snorted. "Shit, another Recon mission."

Dom shook him head. "Nothing's been happening on the Recons for the last two months."

"Exactly." Baird said as he rubbed his forehead. "It's boring as fuck."

"Still, it's what we're assigned. Stop bitching." Talon said as she shoved Baird slightly. Baird merely rolled his eyes. Talon chuckled. "If nothing happens tomorrow, I'll fucking prance around naked for you all, alright."

Baird looked at her, blush creeping onto his face. "Wha?"

Talon made it a point to accentuate every word. "If nothing happens on Recon tomorrow, I'll prance around naked for you all."

"Here's to praying nothing happens." Cole said as he stretched out in his lounge chair. The others couldn't help but laugh a little.

After some time, Talon walked toward the window and looked outside. The sun was already below the horizon, but there was still some light out. The reds and purples seemed so vivd here. "This is probably the only good thing about this shit." She muttered to herself.

The chatter around her stop, causing her to turn. All the members of Delta had stopped to look at her, a mixture of confusion and anger on their face. "What the fuck could be good about this war?" Baird said, quirking his brow.

Talon looked back out the window. "When was the last time you saw a sunset like this?"

She could feel the others surround her as they looked out the window.

"You know." Dom said after much silence. "I don't _remember _the last time I looked at a sunset."

"Me, either." chimed in Cole.

"A sunset is Nature's last glimpse on the beauty she has created." Talon said with a nostalgic smile. "I don't think anyone has looked at a sunset in the last hundred years, except maybe Stranded." She sighed. "If there wasn't a war, we would have never been here. We would have never seen this sunset. Hell, we probably wouldn't even know this town even existed. Regardless of what has happened, what horrible shit we've gone through, we wouldn't be who we are right now if it happened any other way."

"For some fucked up reason, that's actually kinda reassuring." Baird said with a slight smile. Talon cocked a grin. "Thanks. Most people don't get my ramblings."

They all saw truth in this. If the war hadn't gone the way it had, Marcus may still be in prison or maybe would have been a war hero. Dominic may had found Maria in time or still had his kids. Cole may still be playing thrashball. Baird would probably have never joined as a Gear. And after everything that put them at this point, if their lives had even been slightly different, they probably would have never been staring at the sunset together, thankful to be doing something thought to be so trivial.

Talon opened up her small notebook and started to finish the shading on her picture of Marcus from earlier. Cole took notice. "What cha drawing?" When he leaned down to take a closer look, he let out a hearty laugh. "Marcus, you look so damn _pissed_."

Marcus noticed the picture, and his eye twitched. "Did you really need to do that now?"

Talon looked confused. "I have to finish a picture before I can start another. Sorry." Cole sat next to her. "You got any other ones?"

"Well..." Talon flicked a few pages, and showed everyone the pictures of Delta she had done. At seeing them, they all seemed to take on the expression of the picture. Baird blushed, a small sneer on his face. "What the fuck is with you making me blush?"

Talon shrugged happily. "It's so easy it amuses me." Cole laughed. "That's true. He's been doing nothing but blushing since you got here."

Baird's attempt at a venomous glare just made Talon and Cole laugh. Talon wiped a tear from her face. "Maybe sometime I can actually get good views of you guys." She looked at Marcus. "Not so pissed off." Marcus smirked. "Next time we're off."

"Yeah." Dom agreed. "I think my muscles will still be too sore to do another one of those little 'trips' again." He rubbed his thigh hard, trying to ease the tensed knots that formed from all the running.

"Well." Cole said as he stretched and got up from the floor. "I'm going to bed. And I am going to sleep like a fucking log."

"You and me both." said Baird as we waved to everyone. "See you at 0800 tomorrow?"

Marcus nodded. "Courtyard."

Baird and Cole smiled and walked out of the door. Dom then stood up. "Should probably do the same."

Talon looked at the time. "We still have, like three hours before lights-out." Dom smiled. "Maybe to you, but my pillow is calling me. And I really need that shit after today."

Talon shook her head. "Fine. See ya tomorrow."

Dom smiled. "See you, Talon. Marcus." Marcus nodded with a small smile as his friend left the apartment, leaving Talon and him alone. Talon scratched her head. "You going off to sleep too?" She asked shyly. Marcus just shook his head. "Nah."

"Could I finish the picture, then?"

Marcus looked at her. "You're not done?"

Talon shrugged. "My memory's good, but I can't remember fucking everything." Marcus sighed, rubbing his scalp. "What do you need me to do, then?"

Talon took out her sketchbook, flipped to the drawing him, and quickly exchanged looks between him and the sketch. "Um...just stay there. I need mostly details from your torso and face. Then probably need to stare at your feet for a while."

Marcus shook his head and lounged back onto his couch. "Alright. Draw away."

Talon nodded and quickly started to make pencil strokes and blurring spots with her fingers. She didn't take long, though, before she grabbed his foot, which shook him from the half-asleep state he was already in. "What the fuck?" he said groggily, only opening one eye.

Talon stared at Marcus. "How am I suppose to draw your feet if you hide them under the table?"

"Fine." He said as he propped his feet on the coffee table. "Draw my feet."

Talon sighed and sat next to Marcus on the couch to get the best view of the details she needed. Marcus stared at her out of the corner of his eye, but didn't move. After about five minutes, Talon closed her book with a smile. "Done."

Her smile, though, changed quickly to disbelief when she turned to see Marcus snoring softly beside her. "Shit." She muttered as she grabbed one of his arms and lifted him to his feet.

"Fuck, you're heavy."

She nearly buckled when he shifted in his sleep, but she managed to drag him into his room and roughly threw him on the bed. She smiled at him. He seemed like almost a nice person in his sleep. She shook her head and made her way to the door.

"Night, Sergeant." she whispered as she softly closed the door behind her.


End file.
